OJAI, Calif. — Cooler temperatures and higher humidity helped firefighters Monday as they got closer to fully containing one of the largest wildfires in California history.

The nearly month-old blaze, which at one point threatened the Ventura County communities of Ojai, Santa Paula and Fillmore, was 95 percent contained, and firefighters said they were confident they would have it fully contained and could keep all embers under control by Monday evening.

The fire started from a trash fire on Labor Day and spread to 254 square miles of brush and timber, mainly in the Los Padres and Angeles national forests. It destroyed one rural home and damaged another, and burned several barns and sheds, an unoccupied cabin and a camping trailer.

Crews had been hampered by dry heat, uneven terrain and erratic wind, but on Monday, temperatures in parts of the Los Padres National Forest were in the 40s with humidity in the range of 70 to 80 percent, said fire spokesman Curtis Vincent.

"We had the temperatures in the high 90s and humidity in the single digits. So those conditions and gusty winds made things really tough. But that's kind of behind us right now, and we're looking forward to completing this hard work," Vincent said.

On Sunday, a helicopter crashed during a flight to pick up fire retardant and water. Both pilots walked away with minor injuries.

Firefighting costs on that blaze alone have been estimated at more than $70 million.

In the Northwest, a 15-square-mile grass fire along the Columbia River in Washington was no longer an imminent danger to homes Monday. It destroyed two outbuildings during the weekend and sent thick, brown smoke drifting into the town of Bridgeport, Wash.

The fire, about seven miles from town, came within about a half-mile of homes, officials said. Firefighters had completed lines around about half the fire and expect to have it contained by Wednesday, a dispatcher said Monday. Investigators believe it was started by a downed power line.

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